Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Diameter: | 2.63 inches |
Length: | 40.00 inches |
Manufacturer: | LOC/Precision |
Brief
The Graduator is an excellent rocket for those wishing to get into mid/high
powered flight
Construction
The tubing, fins and everything were of excellent quality. The instructions
were brief (few illustrations), but adequate. The preslotted tubing made fin
installation straightforward, and all parts fit together nicely. I highly
recommend reinforcing the fins so that they are supported by the motor tube. I
used 4" sections of wood (approx 1/2" thick) and epoxied them in
place.
Finishing
Finishing the tube, ply fins and nose cone was easy (as easy as finishing
gets).
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight
I flew the Graduator first on an E16-4. It flew Straight as an arrow up to
approx 500', and deployed perfectly at apogee. Recovery was not so great
without full deployment of the chute. Damage was limited to some cracked
fillets (thankfully, I had reinforced the fins).
Following repairs, I then launched with F22-7 which got more altitude and a beautiful flight. Next an F40 and maybe a G in the near future.
Recovery
The LOC shock cord mounting appears quite strong, and I have had no problems
with it. The included chute took some abuse from ejection burns (must not have
used enough wadding), but is holding up.
The only damage was due to improper chute folding for the maiden flight
Flight Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary
The kit is very easy to build, flies straight and appears quite durable. I
believe one of its strengths is the wide range of recommended motors and
reasonable altitudes. This makes for an excellent introductory rocket for mid
powered flight.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
LOC Graduator review is provided courtesy of: This rocket is a popular LOC kit for people new to composite motors. I liked the looks of the rocket and was in need for a new kit in that power range (D-G). The Graduator came promptly and packed well, however, the shipping company had still managed to kink the body tube. I contacted Barry, the new owner of LOC, and he shipped out another tube ...
(by Mark Trotter) This is a great kit to get you into the more advanced, mid-power rocket kits, but I would still recommend getting a novice kit first. The Graduator has the great feature of through-the-wall tubing which decreases the time and effort for you. It also comes with the LOC MMA-1 motor adapter to fly it on 24mm motors. The only problem, there is no type of "motor ...
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D.H. (September 1, 1999)